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Wednesday, 20 February 2013

That feeling of having so much work to do, and only a week
to complete it, is dire. But a horrific feeling perhaps, is when you are told
you have an extra deadline which you had not the blindest idea about AND its
due in next week. Has that ever happened to anyone? This happened on the same day of the Ben & Jerry’s
Flavour Launch by the way, if I didn’t have an unhealthy obsession
with B&J I most certainly would have ran home after lecture and buckled
down to a bit of nonsense uni work instead of walk half a mile from Great
Portland Street Tube Station to a massive glass building filled with office cubes
and sore bums.

I don’t usually attend these PR thingy’s out of fear of not knowing
anyone and having to engage in forced awkward conversation about my blog. When I
went to this PR event last night - low and behold - it was EXACTLY like that!
Perfect. I was the first to leave, making the situation even more painfully awkward.

I really enjoyed speaking to the PR girls themselves.
Especially Woody Cow! Yes, she was a PR girl in disguise. Cor, and I thought I was
gonna meet the man who invented Phish Food! My favourite part of the night was
the goody bag tasting the all new awesome flavours that are
about to hit UK giants such as tesco etc. Ladies and Gentleman, hold onto your
consumer seats and get ready for the the tastiest ride of your life - it includes
Peanut Butter and Vanilla Ice Cream with a Raspberry Jelly Core AND Blondie and
Brownie and Blondie Ice Cream with a Salted Caramel Core!

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Now that we're in February it's no shock to anyone that the days are finally getting just a tad bit longer. Food bloggers will jump for joy at the extra hour or so that has landed on their doorstep and/or window ledge because its arrival means sharing more tarts, muffins, cakes or even a lobster. So why is it that come pre spring, my cameras contents is as dry as Ghandis flip flop?! But it's not the end of the world and the clock still moves forward regardless of one or seven less posts a month (I hate university).

A few weeks back me and mum transformed our kitchen into a Turkish bakery. She's a good few years out of practice so it was nice to bring those skills up a notch. Generally, Turkish sweets are soaked in sugar syrup, it's this component that gives these sweets their own unique and worldly flavour, right next to its Asian counterparts. Absolutely everything including fried pastries, gets plopped or covered in a huge saucepan of sugar, water and cinnamon stick then left to soak for ten minutes until the finished product is wet, slightly sticky and nothing short of bloody glorious.

Our minefield of goods were all lovely, but I thought I'd turn to this particular recipe for the blog because its bite size. Just one wouldn't hurt.

PS. Please forgive the awful quality of these trendy insta pics, I've only had time to bake in the evenings and then off out again the morning so the Canon had no place here.

Note: Make the process a touch too traditional and use a standard drinking glass to measure the ingredients instead of measuring cups, works wonders I promise!

The Method:
Start with the sugar syrup - add the sugar, water and cinnamon stick to a large saucepan and leave on a medium high heat whilst you make the dough batter.

Add the warm water and yeast to a large bowl and stir until the yeast dissolves.

Add the flour, corn flour and salt to the mix and whisk until incorporated - about 3 minutes.

Cover the batter with a clean tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes to an hour until the batter had doubled in size. You can put it in the fridge if you want.

In the mean time add vegetable oil to a medium sized saucepan and heat until boiling point.

Now for the messy part. Using your hand grab some of the proved dough and squeeze until a small amount appears between your thumb and forefinger. Grab that slightly rounded bit of dough with a teaspoon and plop it into the hot oil.

The balls needs about half a minute each side, or until golden brown.

Once cooked, immediately immerse the balls in the sugar syrup and leave in their for as long as you want. Obviously, the more you leave the balls in there the more sweet and delicious they become!

Transfer the balls into a large bowl that has been lined with paper towels.

Friday, 1 February 2013

Above and below are the sort of pancakes you will either love or hate. You have two options. Choose to envisage above and below as a downright ruddy delicious full fat soft, airy and fluffy item of love, or a more gruesome 1 egg 1 banana combination. Whichever you choose, I have provided the recipe for both. Happy Pre Pancake Day!